Somewhere between bitter and sweet

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Title :

Somewhere between bitter and sweet / by Laekan Zea Kemp.

Title:

Somewhere between bitter and sweet

Author:

Kemp, Laekan Zea

Format:

Books

Physical Description:

343 pages ; 21 cm

Edition:

First edition.

ISBN:

9780316460279

9780316460293

Production / Publication Information:

New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2021.

Summary:

Told in two voices, Pen, whose dream of taking over her family's restaurant has been destroyed, and Xander, a new, undocumented, employee seeking his father, form a bond.

Target audience note:

Ages 12+.

Language:

English

Genre:

Young adult fiction.

Social problem fiction.

Love stories

Subject Term:

Mexican Americans -- Fiction.

Families -- Fiction.

Restaurants -- Fiction.

Cooking, Mexican -- Fiction.

Fathers -- Fiction.

Immigrants -- Fiction.

Noncitizens -- Fiction.

JUVENILE FICTION / General.

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Material Type	Library	Call Number	Item Barcode	Location
Book	Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library	TEEN FICTION KEMP	31330009016449	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Amesbury Public Library	YA FIC KEMP	32114002698265	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Burlington Public Library	YA KEMP	32116003793185	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Chelmsford Public Library	Y/FIC/KEMP	31480011459051	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Dunstable Free Public Library	YA KEM	32118001042789	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Essex - T.O.H.P. Burnham Free Library	Y KEM	32119000421065	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Georgetown Peabody Library	YA FIC KEMP	32120001370939	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Groveland - Langley-Adams Library	YA FIC KEMP	32121000876561	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Hamilton-Wenham Public Library	Y KEM	30470001896470	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Haverhill Public Library	YA/KEMP L	31479007452344	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Lawrence Public Library	FIC KEM YA	31549004849161	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Littleton - Reuben Hoar Library	YA F KEMP	39965002365475	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Lowell - Pollard Memorial Library	YA FIC KEMP	31481005761676	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Methuen - Nevins Memorial Library	YA KEM	31548003339190	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Middleton - Flint Public Library	Y KEMP	32126001784763	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Newbury Town Library	YA KEM	32127001332421	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... North Reading - Flint Memorial Library	YA FIC KEMP	31550002489273	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Rockport Public Library	YA FIC KEMP	32129002470549	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Rockport Public Library	XX(1253432.20)	1253432-20001	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Rowley Public Library	YA FIC KEM	32130001021267	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Salisbury Public Library	YA FIC KEMP	32131000914452	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Tewksbury Public Library	TEEN FICTION KEMP	32132003249623	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Tyngsborough Public Library	YA/KEMP	32137002132142	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... West Newbury - G.A.R. Memorial Library	YA KEM	32135001519418	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Westford - J.V. Fletcher Library	YA F KEMP	31990005045211	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Wilmington Memorial Library	TEEN KEMP	32136003513037	Searching... Unknown

I'm Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter meets Emergency Contact in this stunning Pura Belpré Honor Book about first love, familial expectations, the power of food, and finding where you belong.

Penelope Prado has always dreamed of opening her own pastelería next to her father's restaurant, Nacho's Tacos. But her mom and dad have different plans--leaving Pen to choose between not disappointing her traditional Mexican American parents or following her own path. When she confesses a secret she's been keeping, her world is sent into a tailspin. But then she meets a cute new hire at Nacho's who sees through her hard exterior and asks the questions she's been too afraid to ask herself.

Xander Amaro has been searching for home since he was a little boy. For him, a job at Nacho's is an opportunity for just that--a chance at a normal life, to settle in at his abuelo's, and to find the father who left him behind. When both the restaurant and Xander's immigrant status are threatened, he will do whatever it takes to protect his newfound family, and himself.

Together, Pen and Xander must navigate first love and discovering where they belong in order to save the place they all call home.

This stunning and poignant novel from debut author Laekan Zea Kemp explores identity, found families, and the power of good food, all nestled within a courageous and intensely loyal Chicane community.

Reviews (4)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 9 Up--In Austin, TX, Pen Prado's Mexican American family runs Nacho's Tacos, a popular place to eat and gather and the community hub that neighborhood residents turn to in times of need. Pen's father, Ignacio, can always be counted on for a meal when someone is hungry, quick money for a small job, or steady employment for people with undocumented statuses. Pen has a passion for cooking and dreams of running the restaurant when her father retires, but her parents insist Pen finish nursing school. When they find out that she has been skipping classes, they fire her from the restaurant and let her know that she may continue to live at home only if she finishes school. Xander lives with his abuelo and lives in fear of his undocumented status being revealed. He has worked with immigration lawyers and private detectives in hopes of finding his father, but so far doesn't even know if he's alive. When Xander, who is from Mexico, takes a job at Nacho's Tacos, he finds a place to belong and a family as his relationship with Pen progresses, but those things are threatened by J.P., or El Martillo, a loan shark who has corrupt members of law enforcement on his payroll. In this coming-of-age story told in multiple perspectives, Pen struggles to deal with familial expectations while chasing her dreams of cooking, the heady emotions of first love, and mental health issues stemming from anxiety and depression. Secondary characters are well developed and the plot is a balance of tension, humor, romance, and fear. Lush imagery celebrates Mexican culture and depicts how food can bring people together. VERDICT This #OwnVoices YA contemporary debut is not to be missed; recommended for most collections.--Samantha Lumetta, P.L. of Cincinnati and Hamilton Cty., OH

Publisher's Weekly Review

Set in a close-knit community in Austin, Tex., debut author Kemp's exquisite YA contemporary romance follows two Latinx teens after their lives intersect at a beloved neighborhood restaurant. When 18-year-old Penelope "Pen" Prado makes the difficult decision to come clean to her Mexican American parents about having skipped a semester's worth of community college classes, as well as her real dream of owning a bakery, she is promptly fired from her father's restaurant, Nacho's Tacos. Mean-while, 18-year-old Alejandro "Xander" Amaro, a new hire at Nacho's, longs to find his absent father and lives with constant worry about his own undocumented status. When Xander runs into Pen on his first--and her last--day working at Nacho's, romance ensues. Told in the protagonists' alternating, refreshingly candid voices ("So I have to decide what's scarier: living a life that doesn't belong to me, or losing the one I love"), Kemp's novel serves up finely rendered, stirring character arcs for both, as well as an intimate portrait of two teens grappling with mental health, complicated family relationships, and newfound love. Much like Elizabeth Acevedo's With the Fire on High, Kemp has created a truly special combination of deliciously described food, expressive prose, and dreamy romance. Ages 14--up. Agent: Andrea Morrison, Writers House. (Apr.)

Kirkus Review

Two Latinx young adults in Austin, Texas, find love at the crossroads of family, food, and self-discovery. Eighteen-year-old Penelope Prado loves working at Nacho's Tacos, her father's Mexican restaurant, and dreams of eventually having her own bakery, but her parents--especially her stern father--want more for her. Xander Amaro is a new hire at the restaurant who gets past Pen's tough exterior with his vulnerability and care. He is from Puebla, Mexico, and undocumented; his father left for the U.S. when he was a boy, and his mother sent him to the States to live with his abuelo. As he holds out hope of locating his father, he is welcomed by the vibrant crew at Nacho's that works, parties, and pranks together. When a lie sends Pen away from her family home and the restaurant, she must face forced independence while managing her mental health. Kemp's evocative writing weaves a tender love story set in a tightknit working-class neighborhood that vibrates with life despite local businesses' ongoing struggles with El Martillo, a dangerous loan shark. Fans of Elizabeth Acevedo's With the Fire on High (2019) will cherish Xander and Pen's love story and Pen's passion for food. This stellar debut offers a cathartic take on a relationship between a father and daughter. Authentic flavor inside and out. (Fiction. 14-adult) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Penelope Prado is head honcho at Nacho's Tacos when her father isn't there--until he fires her for skipping out on her college classes. Like many immigrants, her parents' cloak their desire for a better life for her under tough love, but she perceives it as a rejection of her dream to open a pastelería. Just as Pen's thoughts of inadequacy begin to take hold, she meets Nacho's newest hire, Xander, who's searching for his estranged father and under the threat of having his undocumented status exposed. When the restaurant is in trouble, the two learn the true meaning of family, both inherited and found. The portrayal of a tight-knit Chicanx community brought together by food and love is at the core of this novel, and Kemp's precise writing flows from Pen's perspective to Xander's effortlessly, even while revealing their individual lives. Some alcohol abuse might push this into older YA territory, and issues of mental health are handled with care. Recommended for readers who enjoy strong stories about found families, expectations, and food.